Mass Effect 3: Shepard's Walk
by americancheeze
Summary: Bryan Shepard stands at an crossroads. He must make one of three choices to save the galaxy, none of which actually save the galaxy. How can he win? Will he ever see his friends and lover again? First chapter is just to fix the horrid canon ending.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Wait... That Doesn't Make Any Sense

I was standing in front of the ghostly visage of a small boy, the same image that had haunted my dreams in the four months that had passed since I had failed to save the real thing on Earth. He had given me three choices. The thing was no ghost, instead an image created by the Catalyst, a device that was part of a larger device meant to destroy the reapers. I had thought the Catalyst was the Citadel, but instead it was apparently an AI or something of great power, but not enough to enact change. The Crucible that I'd been working so hard to get built had changed it and opened up new solutions to the problem the reapers were made to solve. There lay the choices, each would cost him me my life and the galaxy the mass relays the relied so heavily on. It was surely worth the cost if it saved all life. Right? I had to choose.

The first option was to destroy the reapers, but it would also kill all artificial life. However that would kill EDI, and me, and the geth we fought hard to free and return to the peace alongside the quarians they had always wanted... and it occured to me that the geth had interfaced with the large majority of the quarians' life support suits in an attempt to speed the process of leaving them. That made those suits, that the quarians needed to live, as much artificial life as the geth were.

Tali... my thoughts veered back to the battle mere moments ago and the mad rush for the teleportation device that would take us to the Catalyst. I'd selected the two friends that had been with me through everything, Garrus and Tali. It felt right, and even though I didn't want Tali in danger, I thought I could protect her if she was right there with me. She wouldn't have wanted to hide either. Tali had really given me no choice in the matter. She wanted to help me retake Earth just as I had helped her return to Rannoch. She'd wanted it with every fiber of her being. That desire had her rushing the beam with me, and I had nearly died on the charge, hit by a devastating weapon that could cut through ships. Garrus might have lived, but Tali was quarian. There was no way her suit wasn't totally screwed up, and that much breach would definitely be deadly for her. The love of my life was surely dead.

And there was no way in hell I was going to undo everything we'd made possible and kill her entire race.

The next option was to meld all races with machines using my DNA. Supposedly pushing mankind to its final evolution and thus removing the problem, but that meant trusting something that had created the reapers, effectively that button could very well indoctrinate all life in the galaxy. I couldn't risk that.

So that left only the third option: give up my life to become part of the reapers and control them so they would stop the cycle of killing. It was the only real choice...

"Wait..." I said suddenly, that words coming out almost as a wheeze thanks to my wounds, "That doesn't make any sense. Actually, none of these options make any sense."

"Your choices are clear, Shepard." the boy spoke plainly, "These are the paths you've created."

"I understand them just fine. The problem is I don't see how any of them fix the problem at all."

The boy's expression did not change, "What do you mean?"

"You said yourself destroying the reapers and all synthetic life won't fix the problem and it removes the reapers as a safeguard. Merging man and machine does nothing to fix it either. If the problem is the created killing the creator, nothing stops partially robotic people from making robots or some other form of life that would kill us. Controlling the reapers and telling them to stop does nothing to the problem except bring up and interesting question."

"And what question is that?"

"If I were in control of the reapers I would use them as a police force to stop the genocidal synthetic race you claim to want to prevent."

"And?"

"I have to ask: Why the hell wasn't that their original directive? What the hell does killing and storing advanced races in an eternal cycle to preserve all other life solve that killing the synthetic race wouldn't solve better?" I limped a step towards the boy, a scowl on my face, "You're supposedly some great infinite intellect so answer me that. While you're at it answer me a barrage of other things that make no sense about this. Sovereign revealed all tech was left on purpose so we would develop on a set path. You want tech to follow a set, predictable path. Sounds reasonable, but why is that path the one that leads to killer machines? Since you are so high tech and have been doing this for untold eons, how come you haven't formulated a set path that prevents rogue AI?"

The boy said nothing.

I continued to rant, heedless of the pressing urgency of the situation, "I have to note that this set path has societies jumping ahead in technology _drastically_ whenever they find your breadcrumbs. Plus Mass Relays let you cull fast, but it also lets many races ally themselves and share tech. Thus _speeding it up again,_ _increasing the variables in the formula_, and _increasing_ the _number of races_ you have to cull when a race that would have otherwise been primitive during the cycle is elevated to cull candidate by another one. It doesn't make a bit of sense to do that!" I limped forward again, "Plus why hide so far away that you can't react to changes in variables quickly? Why build yourselves into and keep yourselves in scary forms and play the villain? You don't need sleep apparently nor entertainment. Why not sit just outside the range of detection, tweaking your appearances to look appealing as you wait for a machine race of our own creation to rise up, then come in and squish the rogue race before it gets too strong for you to cull, then tell us 'Hey, that's bad. Don't do that.' Then smite any that stupidly attack your pleasant and non-scary but still awe-inspiring new bodies and don't let anyone in range of hacking you."

"You would never listen, you cannot comprehen-"

"Oh wait, because that totally logical course of action that fixes everything undermines your entire motivation. A motivation that makes no sense to begin with. By your own description of yourselves you render your own argument null and void. You are an allegedly incorruptible machine race trying to protect life from creating a machine race that will inevitably become corrupt and kill us. Forget the idiocy of saving life by killing it, but you yourselves define yourselves as an example of a fault in your own logic. There is another right out there, fighting to protect organic life from you! Their betrayal isn't inevitable and you present yourself as an example of me being right!"

The figure of the boy looked perplexed as if unable to compute the simple information.

"Having trouble? I'd imagine so. By you're own logic you are either wrong or you don't exist!"

The image of the boy flickered a bit, "My logic is flawless, you cannot comprehen-"

"How can your logic be flawless if you exist?"

The image froze. Mechanical whirring suddenly sounded from all around me soon joined by the sound of energy building. A moment later it was overwhelmed by the voice of Admiral Hackett, "Shepard! Shepard!"

I didn't reply. All I could do was watch as the image of the boy vanished and a flash of light erupted into space as I watched. When it cleared... the reapers were simply gone. I was dumbstruck by the fact that I had defeated an eons old entity with a shoddy logic argument. I did manage to smirk though and quip, "Comprehend _that_!"

"Shepard! Shepard!"

Hackett was still shouting at me. But I was too tired to actually bother replying.

"SHEPARD!"

God he was getting louder, and for some reason starting to sound like Tali. Come to think of it, why was I shaking?

"SHEPARD! DON'T YOU DIE ON ME!" Tali's voice insisted while something shook me.

My eyes shot open as a medic pulled Tali away from me, saying something about shaking being bad for my wounds and that they needed to treat me. There was an oxygen mask over my mouth forcing air into my lungs and a medic had already started applying medigel. It looked like they'd pulled some shrapnel out as well. Looking around the room, Tali seemed battered but somehow fine, Garrus was nearby too, though it was hard to tell if the bloody scar on he face was just his old one with blood on it or a fresh coat of ugly. Anderson was already on a stretcher and seemed to be alive. Lastly, all the really important stuff aside, I was back in the control chamber where we had opened the arms of the citadel.

Tali noticed I was awake and was elated, "Thank goodness! You're alive!"

Garrus was clearly happy too, but kept calm as he talking to the medic, "Is he going to be okay, Doc?"

The medic frowned a little, "He's lost a lot of blood, but that's fine." pulling out a tube he poked one end into my arm and the other into his, "I'm O positive, human-wide donor."

"Thanks, Doc." I smiled weakly.

He looked at me sternly, "No, thank _you_, Commander. You just saved all life in the galaxy. Well... lots of it at least. My blood saving you makes the wooziness an honor."

"The reapers are gone?"

Tali nodded, "Yeah. Whatever you did the Crucible charged up and fired out a pulse. All the reapers blew up."

"Blew up?" I glanced up at the control panel I was lying near. There was a blood smear on it. I'd actually hit a button, the _right_ button, through sheer dumb luck as I passed out? "Are the relays okay?"

"Of course."

"Thank God."

"Why would the relays be damaged by an anti-reaper weapon?"

"I don't know. I had the weirdest dream that I ran into the ghost of that little boy, who was the incarnation of the Catalyst, which made the reapers, and I destroyed them by convincing them they didn't exist."

Garrus raised what would be the turian equivalent of an eyebrow, "Wait... that doesn't make any sense."

I chuckled, "Exactly."

Next Chapter: New Life

Preview: Now that the ending is fixed up in semi-parody fashion we can get to the real fic. Next chapter, we start the lives of Shepard and Tali after the events of the game. If Bioware fixes the ending properly with DLC, I'll remove this chapter and maybe tweak the fic a bit to fit. In this version though, anyone that seemed to die in the ending (including Wrex) was just badly hurt. Garrus and Tali being unharmed was partly making fun of my personal ending, where they somehow were teleported totally unscathed to the Normandy.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Fair warning, this chapter gets a bit steamy early on and delves into some pretty intense emotions. You have been warned. Non-graphic adult content ahead.

Chapter Two: New Life

Once more I found myself looking out at Earth from space, this time through the window of my quarters on the Normandy. It seemed almost like fate that I could see the planet from my window even though we were docked with he Citadel, or perhaps it was Joker's work. Over a month had passed since the battle for Earth and the galaxy was still too busy licking its' wounds and sorting out their battered fleets to move the Citadel out of Earth's orbit, much less back to where it had been. I could only thank whatever higher power was watching over us that the mass effect fields of the place kept the station's gravitational pull from affecting the planet. As for me, my wounds were healed up and I was finally _mostly_ done with the media, but one question that many asked still ate at me as I watched what was left of Earth.

What was I going to do now that the reaper threat was gone?

While I was fighting to reclaim Earth there was rarely any time place to think about what I was going to do after everything was finished. I had mostly been too busy trying to make sure my decisions didn't destroy millions or doom species. In fact, the past four years had left me with very little time to consider myself at all. To be honest, if someone hadn't pointed out to me how obvious Tali's feelings for me were I would have probably never noticed and never gotten together with her. In hindsight, that simple event of Yeoman Chambers pointing it out probably changed everything. My relationship with Tali gave me so much more strength than I had by myself.

I'd needed it along the way, and I needed it right then even when it was all over. Focusing my vision to the reflection of myself in the window glass I could see only a shell of what I used to be. The therapist Hackett referred me to called it a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, in the military they just call it 'battle fatigue'. My strength was gone, every drop used up long before the whole thing was over, even with Tali giving it a jump-start. Looking at my reflection right then I was pretty sure that without her I would have simply died back on Earth due to lack of any kind of will to fight against the wounds. Even with no wounds left on my body, without Tali I would just die from the battle fatigue. It was that bad. So bad that I hadn't been able to stand being away from Tali during my recovery. It had been hell just not having her around. Not that I could ever admit to anyone that for a time there simply existing was a strain and painful both in mind and body.

And the press wanted to know what my future held?

Looking back at Earth I recalled something Tali had said when we got her people back on Rannoch and ended the war. How she couldn't look at the planet without seeing all the death and loss she had been through to get it back. I couldn't look at Earth without seeing the trillions of lost lives, the deaths of Mordin, Thane, and Legion or all the soldiers and friends on hospital beds with critical injuries. After everything that had happened, and after fighting so hard to get it back... I couldn't go back. It wasn't my home anymore. There was no place for me there. The war against the reapers had defined me so long it was hard to see my place in the universe after they were defeated. I wasn't even sure I could go back to living any semblance of a normal life.

Slender but muscular arms wrapped around me from behind. Arms that were once very slight and only tempered by engineering work on the flotilla but had over the years been hardened by near constant fighting. I touched her three-fingered hands gently and then stroked the soft, pale skin that normally only rarely saw the world out of her suit. Her bare breasts and skin pressed against my back as the quarian embraced me.

Tali spoke to me in that silky, sweet, and kind voice that made all the pain and hurt melt away, "Thinking too much again? If you keep doing that I'll have to punish you again."

There it was, her flirtatiousness in that sweet, wanting tone of hers. There was just something about the way she said it that drove me crazy deep down in my soul. Tali was normally reserved and mature, and had once been pretty shy. Something changed, or perhaps surfaced, back when she admitted her feelings for me and I told her they were mutual. When she discovered she did not have to hide her feelings she lost all fear of letting herself convey them to me. When she told me she loved me and wanted me, she was bolder than normal, let me know that her desire for me was deep and indescribably intense. Her flirtations always had a way of seeping into every crevice of my being and stir the embers of my heart. Just a simple tease drove me so wild I could barely contain my desire.

I didn't reply to her words and simply turned out of embrace so that I could grab her firmly and kiss her deeply. Every time we kissed it was a rush of emotions and fiery passions that threatened to consume us, but that time I needed it more and kissed her hungrily. I fought the urge to take her over to the bed and ravish her man times. I needed her that badly, I needed her that completely. I had given so much of myself that it felt like I had nothing left sometimes, and Tali knew it. I hadn't ever spoken it, but she could feel it. I knew she could because every time I kissed her like that she kissed me back in a way that felt like she was saying "Take my strength. I don't think less of you for needing me. I need you and want you to need me. I want to help you get your strength back, but if you can't then I'll be strength enough for two.

She broke off her reply kiss that night and kissed me gently on the neck, stroking her fingers across my body to reassure me. I pulled back enough to stop her kisses with another hungry kiss, but scaled back, trying to show her I felt a bit better with our intimacy alone. In reply her body told me she knew I was holding back and that I didn't need to. Nothing I wanted of her right then was not a mutual desire. So I pushed her back onto the bed, not even remembering or caring how we'd gotten there from the window, and we made love. We made love much like we had when I had first recovered. To tell the truth, ever since the day of the final battle we'd been at least holding hands or cuddling almost constantly. We'd been sequestered in my quarters for around a week at that point, naked and embracing even when we weren't having sex. The world was just us.

Laying there, thinking about everything and how severe and how insatiable my need for Tali was, it dawned on me that I did have a future. One that had always made my life brighter. One that was tracing the lines of the many scars on my torso and thinking too hard about the pain I was in. I gently grabbed that future's hand and kissed it, then smiled as I gazed into its eyes. I found strength again, right there in seeing her reacting to my pain. She was trying so hard to take that pain away. The desire to not make her need to was plenty strength enough to keep me alive and she was more than enough purpose for my life.

I would have to research quarian marriage customs at some point; but for the time being, I hadn't used up all my days of vacation from the universe. There was a lot more kissing to be done.

After one such kiss, I'm not sure which one or how many preceded it, Tali smiled and looked into my eyes, "Well, if getting you out of a bad mood is always going to be this much fun-"

Many more kisses cut her teasing short. Since neither of us could go home, we spent some more time lost in our own world. Both of us were probably thinking of the words she spoke before we headed to battle that day. Words spoken with sadness and fear of one of us dying and leaving the other behind, "I want more time." We had it. I would say we had as much as we wanted of it, but there was no such things as enough of it. Besides, saving all life in the known universe only earned you so much undisturbed intimacy. The return to that universe was unavoidable.

When we finally got dressed, I started the first actual conversation about reality. In hindsight, the statement was kind of abrupt, "I'm not sure if I should retire or not. Part of me will always be a soldier and can't not be one, while the other is spent and ready to make a life without death."

Tali was practical about it, but not happy about the truth in her words, "You saved the galaxy, Shepard, but there is a lot of rebuilding to do. You've made yourself the center of everything to get things done and I don't think you can walk away from it now."

"Yeah."

"Have they even appointed a new human councilor after the coup?"

"Oh god. They probably will offer me that won't they?" I groaned, "I hadn't thought of that actually. Thanks for pointing that out."

Tali grinned playfully at me, "Oo, are you in a bad mood again?"

I could only chuckle at her flirtatious prodding, it being one of the rare cases she could make innuendo and not turn me into a ravenous lustful beast, probably because it was only joking. I did come back with a reply to stay on topic though, "Maybe we could convince Joker to help us steal the Normandy and run off to have some kind of adventure. I mean, _something_ has to be threatening the entire galaxy right?"

"Ha, ha, weren't you a broken shell just a couple hours ago?"

"I can find enough strength to flee from more political bull-crap. I ended two centuries-old blood feuds. Three if you count salarian and turian relations with the krogan as separate ones."

"Don't forget the rachni, and many races hated what they thought were the real geth."

"To hell with counting all that. Let's just say it was four." I stood up and walked over to the computer on the wall, looking up those quarian marriage customs I mentioned earlier, "I earned at least temporary retirement. I've been busting my ass so long that it's long past time I got to sit on it for a while."

I hadn't expected a lot of information on the customs. After all, since quarians mostly kept their information to themselves. I was probably far more knowledgeable than pretty much anyone about them, and I didn't know anything about the marriages. Another things I hadn't expected was Tali coming up behind me and casually hugging me from behind again. After the grab, I did have enough time to anticipate her reaction to the info on the screen, even though I didn't have the time to close the data before she saw it.

Anticipating her reaction and getting the prediction right were totally different things, I had expected a gasp of surprise and then elation, but instead she took her mask off once more to reveal her grin, and kiss me on the cheek, "Well, surprise ruined I guess." She blushed slightly pulling away from the hug to let me turn around. Oddly she became a bit awkward, something I hadn't seen her be in a while, "In my culture, the women normally ask, because childbirth is a very risky thing we give the women control over the decision to start a family. It doesn't really matter though... if you want to ask I really don't have to..."

Like I normally do when she is embarrassed I watched her hands a bit, as they always do amusing things. This time, she was toying with one of the pouches on her wrist. It occurred to me then, "Tali... where you going to propose?"

"Uh-um... I looked up human customs a bit and I... I didn't really know what kind I should get, the data wasn't that specific so..." she nervously pulled out a plain gold male engagement ring, "If this is fine, I... I mean."

"Tali, why are you so nervous? You just saw I was planning on proposing." I took the ring and slipped it on, "Of course I'll marry you. I don't just love you, I need you. Air is nothing compared to you."

Tali blushed again, "Well, um... good... I mean. Oh dear, what is expression I'm trying to make!"

"How about this one?" I pulled her close and kissed her deeply, the exchange lasting several minutes. When I broke it off we were even slightly winded.

"That works."

Noticing she wasn't getting another ring out I brought it up, "You do know these are bought in pairs right? You're supposed to have one too."

"Really? I screwed it up... I didn't get one." the fact she was so distressed was undeniably cute, but I quickly fixed her stress.

"Don't worry, I can get one easily. It would mean more to both of us if I got it for you I think. I already have some ideas for good ones."

Tali relaxed and smiled hugging me lightly, "That's not fair, you know the custom better than me. You're going to make my gift look ugly."

I smirked, "That's fine. The girl's ring is supposed to be nicer."

"Oh. Well that works out then."

Suddenly the com came online and Joker's voice came over the connection, "Is this a good time, Commander, you're needed at the earth embassy."

I looked to Tali and she nodded, with a smile I replied, "Yeah, Joker. I'll be right there. Should I dress to the nines or not?"

EDI chimed in, "I recommend your officer's uniform. Tone and mood indicates a 90% probability of receiving an honor of some kind."

"Noted." turning to Tali again, "I've got some shopping to do first.

Next Chapter: Staying Together

Preview: Next time, Shepard and Tali work to prevent obligations to their people from tearing them apart while still staying true to their duties. Will Shepard be appointed Councilor? Will Tali be able to balance her love with her duties as an Admiral? What will her people think if they find out one of their Admirals is dating a human?

Tali: They better not have a problem with it after all Shepard and I have done for them.

Shepard: Damn straight.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Wow, I really should proofread more. The last chapter was overflowing with typos. I'll go back and fix it. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter. I decided to change the name and focus slightly as I wrote it. Some more Tali-focused stuff is coming up in future chapters. If you are a fan of my other stories, don't worry, I haven't abandoned them.

Chapter Three: Staying Together

When I finally got the the Embassies I was a bit surprised to see Anderson waiting for me as I got off the lift. He stood from his seat on a nearby bench with a very telling expression on his face. Either there was another crisis, or Tali's suspicions about the future of the human seat on the council were true. Though I was hoping that I was just being paranoid and he had that expression only because he was tired or didn't like them calling me away from my vacation.

"Anderson." I greeted simply.

"Shepard. I should have done this a while ago." He saluted me.

I returned salute, "You've been in this fight as long as I have, Sir."

"Nobody's fought harder or sacrificed more than you to defeat the reapers. I was on the front lines of Earth for months and saw more soldiers give their lives than I thought I would ever have to count. Still, nobody gave more than you."

"Thanks, Anderson." I force a smile, "That means a lot."

Anderson cast an appraising glance over me, "Looks like you've recovered. You're even tougher than I thought, which says a lot. Even a shot from a monster that obliterated dreadnoughts couldn't kill you."

"Some things take longer to heal, but I've got a lot of support."

My old friend nodded, "I know where you're coming from. I've been there more than once myself. The First Contact War was bad, and now the reapers." he paused for a moment, gathering his emotions a little, "Sometimes I think going back to peaceful times is as hard as the fighting."

I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I'm with you on that one."

"Looks like you've got a lot to live for though." Anderson remarked, a slight jerk of his gaze gesturing at the ring on my hand.

I smiled and retracted my hand, twisting the ring around a bit in embarrassment, "Yeah. She was with me the whole way, giving all she could to help me along the way. If not for Tali, I don't think I'd be alive right now."

The admiral smiled, "Good for you. I'd wonder if marriage to a quarian could work, but we're talking about _you_ here. I'm damn sure if if doesn't work you'll _make_ it work."

"Ha-ha, I don't think marital problems can be fixed with yelling, calling people out on bullshit, or explosions."

"Clearly you haven't heard about what's been going on with Wrex and Eve lately." he joked.

If that statement had been graver in tone I would have worried, "Krogan debate tactics aside, I'm sure we can handle anything that comes up." I motioned for Anderson to follow me towards the embassy office and we walked that way, "By the way, how are you and Sanders doing?"

"I don't have a ring yet, but the very moment I saw her at the side of my hospital bed I asked her to marry me. I made damn sure they got us a priest right then and there when she said yes."

I grinned, "I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"Wasn't about to take any more chances."

"I hear you." As we neared the office door, I motioned to it and changed topics, "Got any hints as to what I'm walking into here? I can't imagine you being in the dark on this."

"Nothing involving gunfire, I can say that much. Well... depends on you really. You might run into gunfire eventually."

"Not sure I like the sound of that." I sighed, "Part of me wants to say the hell with it and settle down, and here you are making it seem like I'm getting a promotion."

"You'll see soon enough."

We stepped through the door and into the office that had once belonged to Anderson during his time as the councilor and most recently to Udina before he betrayed us. Admiral Hackett was there, along with a hologram of each of the three council members.

The turian was the one to greet me. I was mildly surprised that he wasn't leaving it to the asari representative – who had in every previous meeting been the head of the council and the voice of it. The discovery that they had been hoarding technology and breaking their own public policy on sharing it had probably compromised the credibility of her entire race. The turians had been the first to support the Crucible while the asari were pretty much last. In hindsight, it made a lot of sense that the asari was keeping her mouth shut. She'd lost most of her clout and much of the trust expected of a leader.

The turian continued, "Commander, we called you hear to discuss the future. Not just of the human race but of all races. You've brokered many treaties and made many alliances. Now is the time to solidify them and deal with the aftermath."

Hackett nodded, but I got the feeling he wasn't taking the same stance as the council. I'd been dealing with people and political nonsense so long I could tell when there were opposing ideas and which was which. He was quick to bring his own up, "We could use you in rebuilding Earth and making peace with the other races. However the two aren't necessarily things that go hand in hand on a operational level. We have two offers, but the decision boils down to short term vs long term."

The turian took over, "The council needs a clear head, but one that can get heated when needed and knows when to put the needs of the many ahead of the few. A man that will put an end to the political knots we apparently have a habit of tying ourselves in."

The asari finally chimed in, "That, and humanity needs a representative. Someone to iron out the ties you've built for your race."

The turian continued, "Despite our issues in the past. I think you have proven the ideal candidate for the job."

"You want me to be the human representative on the council." I wasn't at all surprised of course. Tali had been right, "What about Anderson?"

The man himself responded, "I couldn't get the job done before. Plus I'm hardly as qualified as the man who ended not just one ancient blood feud, but two. Three if you count the turian and salarian grudges against the krogan as separate issues."

"And far more if you count the opinions of the entire galaxy towards the geth and the rachni and the animosity between humans and turians." The asari noted, "You have personally brought us closer to total galactic peace than anyone in known history. Nobody else deserves the post more."

The turian spoke up once more, clasping his hands behind his back, "Furthermore, we aren't just offering you a position among us. We want you to lead the council."

"My comments about you being the most qualified count for that too. Though we were doing it for our people's sake, the actions of asari government has proven us to be too selfish to lead the galaxy at this time. We may have the wisdom of living far longer, but it did not serve us as well as the human ability and determination to do what needs to be done quickly, concisely, and efficiently. Nor did it prove greater than your ability to listen to others and pool the resources of the galaxy. Right now the galaxy needs someone like you."

Admiral Hackett seemed lightly crestfallen, and I could tell he had his own offer to make, "I agree that you would do a lot of good as Earth's representative, but I have another offer. If you don't want the burden of leading the entire galaxy, I'd like to keep you in the Alliance military, doing the same work you have always done before, but as an Admiral and emissary to the other races. You would have similar responsibilities either way, but as an Admiral you would be more focused on Earth and you could be more hands-on with less red tape."

"I'm sorry, Admiral Hackett, but I think Earth – not to mention the galaxy as a whole – would benefit more from a Councilor Shepard than an Admiral Shepard."

I looked to the admiral, "I suppose I can't just do both jobs? A hands-on military councilor could work."

The solarian representative answered, "We asked Admiral Anderson to give up his post in the military to prevent conflict of interest when he was selected, the same applied to myself when I left the STG to speak for my people."

"It is for both custom and for function, Commander. You would be stretched too thin trying to do both and both would suffer."

I looked to Anderson, "You've been both, been in every position that applies right now. What do you think I should do?"

"I can't make that call for you, Shepard. You know that." he turned to the council, "I still think we shouldn't ask for an answer right away. Shepard has done so much for us that I think he's earned time off. The galaxy is in shambles, but we can hold it together for a while can't we?"

The asari spoke up, "Shepard made a lot of compromises and made a lot of changes to the landscape of things, the fallout of which will be coming to bear sooner rather than later. I do agree with you however. On a personal level I believe he should rest, but on professional level we need an answer very soon."

I thought about it, but it was a huge decision to make, "Give me some time. I need to think about it. I'll get back to you by tomorrow."

"The galaxy can wait that long I'm sure." Anderson pressed.

The councilors looked to each other to form a consensus in the same way I had seen them do a half dozen times, then the asari nodded, "Very well. We will await your decision. I trust you to make the right one, Commander."

The hologram vanished and Hackett echoed the sentiment before taking his leave, but I was weighted down by my own thoughts. It was barely two weeks since we'd saved all life and suddenly everyone was trying to put the weight of the entire galaxy on my shoulders again. My perspective had changed slightly from before the offer, even though I'd known it was coming. Part of me wanted to take that weight on again, so I could just go back to being defined by my work. Another part of me wanted to just cast it all aside and retire. Honestly though, that part had gotten smaller. The offer had been more tempting than I thought it would be and I knew why. It was disturbing that I had so little of myself left that I could be so easily swayed into putting it aside. In that moment of self-reflection I finally understood at least a small part of what having an addiction was like.

Anderson understood what I was going through, he probably had been through the same thing before and still going through it. I could tell he knew what I was feeling by the expression on his face as he tried to change the subject, "Wow. Councilor Shepard, huh? You've come a long way from the street gangs of Earth, Shepard."

He accidentally stepped on a small emotional landmine though. More disturbing than the 'addiction' was the grim realization of just how far removed I truly was from normal life... I had totally forgotten that I was once a gang member in my youth on Earth. I had spent so long in service that I'd started losing pieces of myself. Thinking about it, the horrors of Torfan were starting to fade as well. That horrid epiphany hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt the weight of everything that had happened all over again, the battle fatigue coming back almost as if I'd never gotten my strength back. My hand went to my face almost on instinct. I couldn't dare show the expression on my face.

Anderson put a hand on my shoulder, apparently I'd wobbled a little, "Shepard! Are you okay? You look like you just got hit by a charging krogan."

Forcing myself to shake it off, I stood up straight, "I'm fine, sir. Just..."

"Tired?" Anderson said, a knowing and sympathetic look on his face.

"Yeah."

"I wish I could say the hurt goes away, but it will only fade." he sighed, "Even now I still have nightmares about people I lost in the First Contact War. Though I think ones about this war will fill more nights."

"How do you keep going?"

"We're both stubborn old souls, Shepard. Now though we've got someone waiting for us, someone to pull us off the floor and dust us off. Or in my case tell me to 'stop being such a baby' then make me pancakes."

The image of Sanders making Anderson breakfast then telling him in a harsh, but loving tone to eat up and man up put a smile on my face. So did the reminder that soon I'd be marrying Tali.

Anderson was visibly relieved at the lift in mood, "Can I give you some advice that will probably get me in trouble?"

"Shoot."

"Tell the whole lot of them to stuff their offers and retire to a nice quiet corner of the universe. Spend the rest of your life enjoying a new life with your wife and make damn sure you keep in touch with your friends. You've earned the right to have the things you've been fighting for. _Nobody_ has the right to take that from you."

"Thanks, Anderson."

"No, after all we've been through," he offered me a handshake, "I want you to call me David."

I smiled very slightly, then took his hand, "Yes, sir."

Next Chapter: The Next Step

A/N: What do you think Shepard should do? If taking any of the jobs won't hamper his being Tali, what choice should Shepard take. I'm not saying the jobs wouldn't present challenges to them being together, but if you think it would stop them then you don't know them very well lol. Tell me what you would like him to do in our review alongside any feedback you want to give. I'll be making the final decision, but I'll keep your thoughts in mind. Thanks a bunch.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I originally wrote the alternate ending in the first chapter as a means of mocking the original ending and making it so I could continue with an 'aftermath story'. Would you guys want to read an _actual, serious_ alternate ending? Also, a while back I wrote another Mass Effect fic, which continued with a Mass Effect 2 sequel. It featured an original character as 'my character' rather than being a story about 'my Shepard'. I'm rewriting the whole thing and will eventually make a ME3 finale to the trilogy. Make sure you check out my other Mass Effect fic "Not a Hero".

Chapter Four: The Next Step

"Wow. I'm not completely sure how to react."

"Weren't you the one that said that might offer me the seat?"

Tali shook her head and did a very small pacing as we talked in my room. I could tell from the look on her face that she was both torn and surprised over the news of the promotions, which in turn surprised me. She clarified, "Well, I wasn't totally serious. I mean, I expected them to offer a seat. I didn't expect them to make you leader of the whole galaxy."

"I haven't accepted yet.

"But you will. As much as you might think you want to, you aren't the type to retire." Tali closed the small distance between us and placed my hands in hers, gazing into my eyes, "You'd regret turning your back on the galaxy shortly after we left the docking bay."

"You're probably right."

"The Shepard I know would take the job, and do it on his own terms. At this point, who would argue with your methods."

"I'm pretty sure what's left of the batarians still hate me." I sighed, remembering the incident with the batarian relay. Tali started to reply, but a thought crossed into my mind, "The council seat would be the best way to make up for that. In fact, considering the political fallout of the promotion, I should probably start out by helping the batarians."

"You're already thinking like a councilor."

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, "Now you're just being mean."

She chuckled, then kissed me.

"Anyway, you were looking for something when I came in. Did you misplace something?"

Tali stepped away from me and went back to looking, "Yes, I nearly forgot. I can't find that rock you gave me on Rannoch. I know it's just a rock, but that gesture was really sweet."

"Oh. Well, no problem then." I took the slightly less than paln-sized stone out of my pocket.

Tali was relieved, "I don't know how I lost it on a ship this small with so few people on it. Where'd you find it?" Before I could answer, she noticed something, "It's missing a bit! I must have dropped it."

"No, you didn't. I took it so I could have this made." I pulled out a shiny metal band, a ring of familiar stone in the center of the metal part. Where a gemstone would normally be, there was a chip in a protective casing. "The metal is from a part of the Normandy."

Tali smiled and slipped the engagement ring on, "Now I can carry both my homes with me wherever I go."

"Doesn't quite have the same sweetness the second time, but I thought it was a good idea."

"It really was." she teared up a little.

I had to smiled at the good reception, "The part I used to make the metal bit was from one of the relay conductors that have been in the ship the longest."

"And that part governs 'sparks' that could happen in the system. Ha-ha." Tali laughed remembering the nickname Vega had given her.

"The chip is-"

"An external drive for omni-tools."

I nodded, "Sixty-seven extra terabytes of RAM."

"You really know how to treat a lady." she smiled wider, then lightly punched me before hugging me, "You meanie, putting so much thought into this ring makes mine look like the governing coil of the waste disposal system."

"I have to make up for everything you've done for me. Just helping save your homeworld and all life in the galaxy isn't enough to repay you. This ring isn't even a drop in the bucket compared to how much happiness I want to give you."

"Sweet-talker." Tali gazed deep into my eyes and kissed me.

* * *

><p><em>Tali's Perspective<em>

"Tali!" I turned to pinpoint the source of the familiar voice and spotted Liara seated at a table overlooking the river, "Over here."

It was amazing that in just under a month they had managed to get the entire Presidium up and running again, but considering it was the hub for all the most well-off citizens of the galaxy it wasn't the most shocking thin in the universe by a large margin. At the time I didn't even know that the most shocking was actually still on the way. Unaware of the changes to my life lurking on the horizon, I smiled and strolled over to what must have been Liara's favorite seat in the cafe.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Yes." the normally hardened information broker seemed unsure of herself for the first time in years.

It reminded me of how she'd been when she first met, but at the same time sort of caused the years of struggle and stress hang off of her like metaphorical wrinkles. Even though asari age very slowly and Liara was still barely an adult for her species, the wear of her harsher than normal life weighed on her, and her mental state just made the years pile on. Not that she was as distressed or shell-shocked as Shepard had been. At least it didn't seem that way. There was something else on her mind, something she wanted to talk about, the words just weren't coming. The asari was never very good at face-to-face exchanges; except with Shepard that is.

I sat down and gave her a smile. Not that she could see it. I had to make sure to put the smile in my voice too, "Come on. If something's bothering you I don't mind hearing you out."

"Thank you." she returned the smile, but I could tell it was at least partly forced, "It... It's nothing. Just fatigue. I called you because I wanted to catch up. We haven't actually talked lately."

"We rarely ever talked anyway." I joked, "Back when we first met I was always in engineering because I was in an awkward phase and during our recent run together you were the one holed up in a small room with your work."

"I am sorry about that. I wanted to talk with you more than just over the odd meal or mission banter, but things happen."

I nodded, "Yes, I know."

"And it was more than that really." Liara admitted, frowning, "I have to apologize for that part too. Actually there's a lot I have to make amends for."

"What do you mean?"

She hesitated, but then continued, "Well, to be honest I always knew you had a crush on Shepard and I saw the chemistry you to had. I could have pushed you two together."

I chuckled, "That's no big deal. I actually prefer how it happened. Back on the first Normandy I was still a kid. I mean, sure I was one my pilgrimage and pretty much an adult, but we actually had a lot in common. Both of us weren't really sure how to go about some really important things."

Liara nodded, "I envied you though. You were sure of yourself when it came down to it. We were both shy and awkward, but you had a lot more faith in yourself than I did."

"I don't know about that."

"It's true." the asari pressed, "And... well to be honest I was jealous of that bond you had with him. That's why I didn't do anything to help you two get together. I was attracted to him myself." She looked down at her hands, having gotten something off her chest that she'd been carrying around for a while. I imagine she thought I'd be upset considering I was a bit possessive back then.

Of course I wasn't though. The past was the past and Shepard was mine. "I told you, you don't have to apologize. I don't hold old feelings against you. You said 'was' after all."

She sighed, "I still am a little jealous. Not that I plan on trying to steal him or anything."

"I do still have a shotgun." I joked.

"That you do." Liara knew I was joking, but I did catch her making sure I didn't have it on me, "Shepard means a lot to me, as a friend. I know it wouldn't work out." she looked straight at me, "Whatever rumors you might hear, nothing ever happened between us back then. He was completely oblivious to my feelings, even when I tried to make a move."

I had heard they had a thing, but it was little more than idle ship gossip, "I had heard things, but Shepard cleared that up a long time ago." I looked at my ring and smiled, "Back when we first started out as a couple, he looked right in my eyes, ignoring the helmet completely, and told me that I was the only one he wanted. Looking into his eyes right then I couldn't do anything but believe him."

I glanced at Liara, who eyed my ring and then looked to her hands with a strange expression. I understood. It was probably hard hearing a crush had said that to someone else. She quickly cast that aside though and smiled, a real smile, "I'm happy for both of you. I really am. If you need any help with the preparations I'd be more than happy to then a hand."

"Thank you, Liara."

"I'd never do anything deliberately to ruin our friendship or my friendship with Shepard."

The phrasing was slightly odd, but I smiled and ignored the weirdness, "I know that."

The asari stood suddenly and bowed slightly, "I should go, thank you for hearing me out."

"No problem. Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

Shaking her head she replied, "No. That's all for the moment. I have to get back to work. There's lots to do. Give Shepard my best."

"Of course." I nodded, "We haven't set a date yet, but we're thinking we'll just be engaged for a bit and let everything cool down. A lot's happening right now. You don't even know the half of it."

The information broker smirked, "Oh, I know about the council's offer. Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Right. I nearly forgot."

"I don't know his decision of course, but I get the impression the galaxy can expect even more change very soon."

"You've got that right."

She looked down, her expression again distant and thoughtful before she turned back to me, "Whatever happens, I'll be there for you two."

"I know, and thanks again for that."

She started to walk away, but stopped herself, tensing as if wracked with some guilt. It was that guilt that forced her to turn around and drop a bombshell, "I can't just not tell you. I thought I could wait and confess later when it wouldn't be so fresh, but I can't. That would be even more of a betrayal."

"'Betrayal'? What are you talking about?"

"I did something unforgivable and I'm sorry. I didn't want to risk losing him and I thought I could-"

I stood up like a bolt, glaring at what she seemed to be insinuating, "You should clarify faster."

"I thought that if he died you could have something of him, and if he didn't-"

My anger was growing a bit more, but was joined by a little confusion, "I said spit it out."

"He didn't know about it. I offered him a parting gift of my memories of him before the assault on the beam. A totally platonic asari custom. While our minds were linked-"

It suddenly dawned on me, "You didn't..."

"I took a sample of his DNA and brain waves... so I could-"

I slapped her and shouted, "You're going to have his child?"

She made no move to retaliate, Liara knew she deserved it, "I... I wasn't thinking clearly. I won't lie and say I did it for wholly selfless reasons but... I always planned to give the child to you. I was only going to be a surrogate."

"You think... you think that makes it okay?"

"You can never have children with him, Tali. Ever. Even if you adopted it wouldn't be a child made from any part of either of you."

"That doesn't make what you did any less of a violation of-"

"I know that... I know alright?" she was on the verge of tears, "I hate myself almost as much as you hate me."

I looked at her, trying to hate her. To my own surprise I couldn't hate her completely. I could only see myself in her expression. I understood her feelings. I understood how well-intended the act had been even though the intent was made in desperate stupidity. I could even understand the selfish bit of it, wanting so badly to make Shepard a little bit hers. If I were her I probably would have done the same stupid thing.

Liara looked at me pleadingly, "I don't want to take him from you. I was just trying to do something... something to make sure some part of him remained for... us. I was scared of losing him. So scared it made me stupid."

I couldn't be mad at her anymore. Well... not as mad, "I know... I understand." There was a silence hanging in the air for I'm not sure how long before I finally broke it, "We need to talk to Shepard about this."

"Oh goddess... what will he think of this?"

I sighed, "I think I need a drink..."

Next Chapter: Home

A/N: Next chapter will probably be the finale folks. Be sure to read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Daddy, lemme help with your tie!"

I paused in my struggle with the piece of cloth and looked down to the little asari girl standing on a nearby chair. She was three years old but looked four, was cute as a button, and was often startlingly mature in between fits of the usual little kid hijinks. Her penchant for getting into places where she didn't belong had already earned her a commendation from C-Sec when she saved a duct rat from falling to his death. Not that the heroic action had ended the teasing long.

"Okay, Keena, I'll let you give it a shot, but be careful. It's been passed down in my family for a while now." I turned and started to kneel a little so she could reach.

It was then that she pounced, wrong her arms around my neck and hanging there, "I'll be daddy's tie! Wear me through the whole wedding! It'll be funny!"

I hugged the little scamp back as a beep sounded, indicating someone wanted to come in, "Come on in."

Garrus strolled in, dressed to the nines in his dress uniform and ready to do his job as the best man. He smiled at the scene of wholesome family goodness, "Well. Looks like the little princess is making trouble again."

Knowing too well that she wanted to present her joke, I let go of m daughter and let her hang from my neck and proclaim, "Uncle Garrus, look! I'm daddy's tie!"

"Sure you are pumpkin." Garrus came over and grabbed the girl, pulling her gently off me. She didn't fight, but did swat at his mandible as usual, "Hey! I told you to stop that."

His gentle protests only earned him hugs and the laughter of the child.

I smiled, but the back of my mind worried about Keena. She was incredibly outgoing and affectionate with people she knew, but when it came to making new friends and getting along with people she didn't know she was almost a totally different person. I supposed it comes from none of her parents being incredibly outgoing early in their lives. Her unusual appearance and abnormal origins probably didn't help her get along with other either. She was the first of what some called a 'new generation of asari'. A child born from an asari surrogate using the genetic identities of two people rather than one. Liara had been the first to successfully do it of many that tried, and while most of her race saw it as a boost to the genetic diversity they valued highly, many saw the child as unnatural. The fact that a combination of a Liara, Tali, and my genetics created a very pale asari with colorless irises, a lankier yet muscular body, and sharper facial features didn't help much. While most of the children were calling her "Ghost" because of her appearance and quiet nature, the asari children were calling her something that translated into the more garish "Ghoul".

Garrus snapped me out of my thoughts, "So, Councilor, finally getting around to officially tying the knot. It's about time you made an honest woman out of Tali."

I nodded, and went back to struggling with my tie, "Who'd have thought that ruling the council and keeping up with spectre duties would take up a lot of time?"

"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't stay retired from active duty that long."

"Says the guy that was back in the spectres after only two months."

"You've got me there." Garrus set my daughter down and walked over to me, turning me around to ace him and grabbing the tie, "Here, allow me." He had it done almost instantly.

"Where the hell did you learn to tie a tie?" After all, humans and sometimes asari were the only races that wore them.

"Wrex showed me."

"That just creates more questions, but I can probably guess the answers." I adjusted the tightness of the miniature noose and tried to make it look less like it was meant to kill me.

"Everyone's here and seated in the hall. Kept it nice and intimate. Oly friends and their immediate families. Well, Wrex and Grunt left their kids behind of course. We'd need another hall for those."

"Wrex seem upset about the bill that was passed?"

"I get the impression he doesn't like the council regulating krogan birth rates, but Eve seems to be on board and talked some sense into him. Wrex might be thick, but he wants to avoid another disaster like the Krogan Rebellion as much as the next guy."

"I figured requiring they only use Tuchanka as the laying grounds would help balance things out a bit without being overly cruel."

Garrus shrugged, "We'll see. This generation will be fine. I dunno about the next."

"That aside, any leads on the missing husks?"

My old friends laughed and pulled my attention to Keena, who was pouting, "We should stop talking about work on your wedding day, Shepard. Someone's upset."

I bent down and gave the youngster a hug, "Sorry. Daddy deals with nervousness by working."

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Dad. Mommy loves you almost as much as I do."

I smiled even wider, "I know. Your daddy is the head of the council and your mother is leader or her whole people, so lots of eyes are on us. I just want today to be perfect."

"It will be! I've been practicing the flower girl part lots and lots!"

Garrus chuckled, "For some reason Jack got stuck cleaning up every time."

It still astounded me how much Jack, the 'psychotic biotic' liked kids. I was tempted to ask if she was dressed properly for the occasion, but honestly 'appropriate dress' for Jack was three more strips of cloth than usual. Putting that aside, I did one last check on business on my omni-tool, skimming over the intel Liara had wired me about reaper tech dealers, none of which trafficked in the husks that still weren't accounted for. The data was easy to o over thanks to organization and analysis from Miranda, who had been using her freedom from fugitive status working as my assistant.

Keena tugged on my coat, "Stop working, Daddy! Everything will be fine. Don't be nervous!"

Garrus nearly fell over laughing at her misplaced but totally earnest reassurance.

The door beeped and EDI's voice came over the comm, "Shepard it is time. Make your way to your position."

I hugged my daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was time. Long overdue actually. That day wasn't the start of a new part of my life, but a tribute to it. I had a family, one that included a hell of a lot of friends and love. The walk down the aisle for both me and Tali was more symbolic than anything. Thinking back, it was a far better walk than any of the three that ghostly hallucination had offered me.

The End

A/N: Kinda short I know, maybe even a bit anti-climactic, but I admittedly wrote myself into a bit of a corner and a time skip was the best way to tie everything up in one chapter. In summary, everyone is pretty much doing what you'd expect and living happily. That includes Jacob and Joker, who weren't directly mentioned. The 'missing husks' thing is a plot hook for a sequel idea I'm pondering. Let me know if you'd like a sequel (which may or may not actually star Commander Shepard).

Considering some messages I've gotten about this chapter ending things too abruptly, I'm considering adding some more chapters in, but it might be a while. Other stuff to write and such.


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